Man accused of Alex Apps killing in Mount Pleasant tried to blame 2 other men

One of the two men accused of killing 25-year-old Beaufort native William Alex Apps told investigators two others held Apps at gunpoint before killing him, a story that was later proven false, a Charleston County Sheriff's Office spokesman said.

According to affidavits provided by the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, Jquan Scott -- one of the two men charged in Apps' death -- told investigators he had driven Apps to a home on Mathis Ferry Road in Mount Pleasant after their arranged meeting Oct. 3 at a Charleston Hardee's restaurant to discuss purchasing Apps' truck. There, two unnamed men held Apps at gunpoint and later shot him while driving around in his truck with Scott, the affidavit said.

Investigators later determined that Scott's story was false, and that Apps had been shot by Scott and Isaac Romell Williams while driving over the Ravenel Bridge in the truck on Oct. 3, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Maj. Jim Brady.

Neither the Charleston nor the Beaufort County sheriff's offices released further information Thursday about Apps' death. Both agencies' investigations continue, according to Brady and Beaufort County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Sgt. Robin McIntosh.

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Meanwhile, a memorial service and burial for Apps is scheduled for Oct. 19, said Sauls Funeral Home funeral director Gary Vinson.

A memorial service will be at 10 a.m. at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church in Bluffton, followed by a burial at New Hope Cemetery in Lexsey, Ga. Vinson said Apps' family has a plot at the cemetery, about 100 miles west of Beaufort County.

The memorial service was first announced on the Facebook page of a Beaufort Academy alumni organization Thursday afternoon. Apps was a graduate of the school.

The group also announced a special celebration of Apps' life, scheduled for 9:30 p.m. Oct. 19, the same day as the burial, at Q on Bay in Beaufort.

According to the celebration event page, Apps "always talked of having 'Irish funerals' where the sadness would be lifted and replaced by cheerful memories."

As of 6 p.m. Thursday afternoon, a Facebook page demanding "Justice for Alex Apps" had more than 23,000 likes, and a Change.org petition lobbying for maximum sentences for those responsible for his killing had 1,800 supporters.

An oceanfront candlelight vigil for those affected by Apps' death has also been planned for 7 p.m. Sunday near the Sullivan's Island Lighthouse.

"I didn't know Alex, but like most of you, this tragedy has touched me," the vigil's organizer wrote on a Facebook event page. "The energy of our love and the light from our candles will represent one 'big hug' from all of us to Alex and his family."

THE ACCUSED

Scott, 19, and Williams, 20, have both been charged with murder and kidnapping in Apps' death. Scott also was charged with armed robbery and possession of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime. Scott and Williams shot and killed Apps after responding to Apps' Craigslist advertisement to sell his Chevrolet pickup truck, Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said Tuesday.

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Investigators from the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office began an investigation into Apps' disappearance Friday after Sheriff P.J. Tanner received concerned calls about Apps' whereabouts. Charleston County investigators joined the search for Apps on Sunday.

Phone tracing and electronic records were used to track down Scott, who was driving Apps' truck and had used his debit card in four Lowcountry counties, among them Beaufort County, to purchase items such as food and shoes, authorities said. Scott initially told investigators he had purchased the truck from Apps and taken his debit card as collateral until the paperwork could be filled out, Tanner said Wednesday.

With inconsistencies developing in his story, Scott admitted to killing Apps and led investigators to Apps' body, dumped in a wooded area off Magrath Darby Boulevard in Mount Pleasant, Cannon said.